This blog post is the sixth in a series on how churches can think creatively about addressing the needs of Generation Z. We are using Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a springboard to consider how Christians can assess and address the physical, emotional, social, and aspirational needs of emerging generations, moving from the basics on up to the need for self-fulfillment.

Kate Shellnutt of Christianity Today reports Generation Z is twice as likely to identify as atheists or LGBT as are other American adults.While many youth pastors believe wisdom in using technology is the foremost need of emerging generations, other challenges are present as well. Churches need to be wise and understanding in their conversations about sexual identity and unbelief.

The genius of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is its clarity and simplicity. You begin with basic human needs and move up, building as you go. At the bottom, we are reminded that every person needs their basic physiological needs met before they can move on to the next stage and begin to feel safe and secure.

This blog post is the third in a series on how churches can think creatively about addressing the needs of Generation Z. We are using Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a springboard to consider how Christians can assess and address the physical, emotional, social, and aspirational needs of emerging generations, moving from the basics on up to the need for self-fulfillment.

This past fall, I volunteered as a cabin leader for a middle school retreat with my church. I was assigned a cabin of 8th grade girls. During the weekend, one topic of conversation kept coming up during our cabin discussion time: what it looks like to share their faith with their friends and peers. They would ask, “We know we are supposed to talk about Jesus, but how?”

Over the last decade, anxiety has overtaken depression as the most common reason college students seek counseling services. In its annual survey of students, the American College Health Association found a significant increase — to 62 percent in 2016 from 50 percent in 2011 — of undergraduates reporting “overwhelming anxiety” in the previous year.

While churches have taken steps to make their sanctuaries gun-free zones, they are not threat free. My iPhone 6 is a two and half by five and half inch rectangle of circuits, metal, and glass that can access a sea of information in an instant.